(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic scoring device for games of darts, and more specifically to a scoring device including a display for scores, means interfacing with a user, means suggesting targets at which to throw, and means for scoring games versus the device.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Most dart games are presently scored using markers of sorts and writing surfaces. Most common of scoring implements are chalk and a chalkboard. Such scoring implements are basically used to tally, in one manner or another, dart hits on target areas required for a game being played. Some problems encountered with such scoring means are scoring legibility, presence of chalk dust, the locating of misplaced writing and erasing instruments, light reflections off of chalk boards obscuring scoring information, and scorekeeping mistakes.
A standard dart board in use today is circular, with a surface for receiving a pointed projectile which hits a target area thereon. Projectiles are usually thrown from a distance of about eight feet from the dart board. Twenty equally sized wedge shaped target areas typically are designated on the board, giving the dart board an appearance of a cut-up pie. Number values of one through twenty are associated with the twenty target areas. Each wedge has within its confines distinct target areas. One such target area which takes up about seven percent of the wedge's area is a triple, or treble, target. A single dart impacting in the triple area counts as three hits on a given number for many games. Another area, similar to the triple, and taking up about eleven percent of a wedge is a double target. A dart impacting in the double target area normally counts as two hits on the given number for many games. A dart impacting in a wedge that is neither a double nor a triple is considered a single hit on the given number. In addition to the wedges, there are two concentric rings in the center of the dart board. The area of the smaller circle is a double bull's eye, and the rest of the area within the larger circle is a single bull's eye. Thus, in all, there are sixty-two different scoring areas, or beds, on a standard dart board.
Countless dart games have been invented throughout the history of the sport. Four very popular games today are "01", Cricket, Burma Road, and Count, each with its own variations.
In a game generally referred to as "01" participants agree on a starting score which ends with digits "01". Examples of typical starting scores are 301, 501and 601. The object of an "01" game is to achieve the starting score exactly, with the final dart scoring on a double. Printed lists are available and often posted in darting establishments which offer suggestions to a thrower as to preferred target areas to hit in order to win with two or three darts. A problem with such lists is that to use them after having thrown one or two darts, a player sometimes must first perform mental multiplication, addition and subtraction in order to arrive at an intermediate score. Also, such lists do not normally suggest target areas when more than three darts are required to finish a game. Variations of "01" have different requirements regarding the start of the scoring. Basically, each side subtracts an amount of points hit on a three dart throw from that side's previous total. Thus, for example, if in the game of 301 one side started with a double twenty, triple nineteen, and a single seven, the scorekeeper would be required to perform the corresponding multiplications and additions to arrive at a three dart total of 104, and then subtract that total from 301, giving a remaining score of 197. Clearly, scorekeeping in darts can be a difficult task for those not well versed in mathematics, or in fast-paced games.
In a game referred to as "Cricket" sometimes called "American Cricket" relevant target areas are the 15 through 20, plus the bull's eye. A point value of 25 is associated with a single bull's eye. The object of the game is to get three hits on each target area and to have a point total greater than or equal to an opponent. The first three hits on a given number do not score points. Hits in excess of three (for an entire game) score points corresponding to the target area hit, provided the opponent has not yet effected three hits in that target area. When both sides have three hits in a given target area, that area is no longer used for further scoring. Scores are tallied at the end of a three dart throw. If a player initially makes a single hit on a target area with three darts, the most common technique for tallying this event is to mark a slash (/) next to the corresponding number or bull's eye for that player's or team's side. If, on the second round of darts, the same player hits the same target area once, it is normally tallied as a backslash (.backslash.) through the original slash, forming an "X". The order of the slashes is not critical, but an "X" remains after two hits. If, on the third round the same player hits the same target area once, it is normally tallied as a circle going approximately around the previously scored "X". The circle, in fact, means that the given player has three hits on the given target whether or not previous slashes have been recorded. So, if a player gets more than one hit including a third hit on a given target for a round, the scorekeeper normally only records a circle and skips filling in any intermediate slashes. An interesting result of such scorekeeping is that one can often deduce the general ability of participants by noting the lack of slashes in a game well progressed. Better players, in general, will have less slashes since they often have three or more hits for a given round.
In a game referred to as "Burma Road", also known as "Halve-It" "Double Down" and "Murder" a specific target area is required for each round of three darts. Nine rounds are usually played by each player. Each player starts with an initial score, perhaps 100 or 40, or whatever is agreed to by the participants. A player hitting the required target adds the corresponding point total to his/her score. A player missing the required target with all three darts is penalized by the integer part of half of his/her points. Burma Road is a game that can be played by any number of people, and is often played by seven or more. Each individual's score is tracked. If a tie for first place exists at the end of nine rounds, tied players can play extra rounds until a winner is determined. As can be deduced by the rules of this game, setting up and maintaining a scoreboard for a large group of people can be a tedious task, and difficult on a small scoreboard. Electronic scoreboards for Burma Road are not commonly available.
In a game referred to as "Count" also known as "Count up" a point total for each round is added to a participant's score. There are several variations of this game. When a predetermined point total is reached, or a predetermined number of rounds are thrown, a winner is determined. As in Burma Road, several players can play this game at once. A variation of this game is called "Baseball". In Baseball, each player throws a first round of three darts at the wedge numbered 1. A second round is thrown at the 2, third at the 3 and so on through the ninth round, or inning. One point is scored per hit regardless of the number of the target area. Ties are resolved with extra innings. "Shanghai" is a game like Baseball, except that the hits on valid numbers are multiplied by that number before being added to the score. Also, the number of rounds can be different than nine, as pre-decided by the participants. Shanghai can end abruptly if a player gets a single, double and a triple of a required number, whereupon that player wins. Other rules in variations of Shanghai call for penalties for missing numbers. As in Burma Road, setting up and maintaining a scoreboard for a large group of people can be a tedious task, and difficult on a small scoreboard.
Electronic dart scoreboards have been proposed and manufactured in the past to help alleviate scoring problems. U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,461, issued Jan. 28, 1986 to Honekman, et al., shows an electronic dart game scoreboard which has an array of switches dedicated to game selection, requires auxiliary input and display means, and has input switches which are dedicated solely to the first three hits on Cricket numbers. The scoreboard of Honekman provides for point totals of only up to 99 points for a three dart round where 180 points are possible. Another problem associated with that scoreboard is that if the player gets, for instance, five twenties on the first round, the scorekeeper is laboriously required to activate the twenty switch three times on the dedicated Cricket keys, and then calculate in his/her head that there are two excess twenties, multiply two by twenty, and enter forty on the keypad. Another problem is that there is no recourse from an accidental closure of its reset input switch. The dart scoreboard of the aforementioned patent, plus other units available on the marketplace today, only show LED (Light Emitting Diode) dots to indicate the first three hits on a given number in Cricket. Thus, those scoreboards cannot practically show an indication of a player's ability in Cricket. Those scoreboards do not skip over LEDs for multiple hits in a round on a given number, probably because it would be difficult to discern from a distance the number of hits that had been made on a given number. For instance, if the first player got three twenties and an opponent did not witness such event but relied on the scoreboard, he/she would see just one lit LED. That would not be an obvious indication from eight feet away that his/her opponent had three twenties. Also, the aforementioned U.S. patent, and units available on the marketplace, do not provide for combining a three dart total, thus often requiring the scorekeeper to perform mental multiplication and addition and to enter the result on the given unit. There has been a long standing need to eliminate mathematical calculations on the part of the score keeper in the game of darts. Present electronic scoreboards for darts do not show which target areas have been hit, but merely a summation of points for three dart rounds. There is a need, especially in league play, to verify that the score keeper's entry corresponds with the target areas hit.
United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2,087,734, published Jun. 3, 1982, in the name of William G. Rutter, describes an electronic apparatus which performs a function similar to the printed lists which suggest ways of winning "01" games. A problem with that apparatus is that it requires a thrower to perform division in order to arrive at target areas at which to throw. Further, that apparatus does not provide suggestions for throws when more than three darts are required to finish a game.